The diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of complex products, such as vehicles, appliances, industrial equipment, and other complex products can be difficult and time consuming. Expert knowledge and/or expensive diagnostic equipment may be required to ensure that the products can be properly diagnosed, maintained, or repaired.
Various tools have been developed to assist with such tasks. One such tool is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0144183 by McQuown et al. (the '183 publication). The '183 publication describes a handheld portable unit that can be used by a locomotive technician on-site to access information needed to repair, diagnose, and troubleshoot locomotive problems and undertake necessary repairs. For example, the technician can download schematics, repair manuals, repair recommendations, and other resources to help complete the task at hand. In addition, the technician can use the portable unit to order needed parts from a supplier.
Although the portable unit of the '183 publication may help a technician diagnose, maintain, and repair a locomotive, it may be inadequate. For example, the technician may identify a particular part of the locomotive that needs to be replaced and, thus, order the part using the portable unit. However, the portable unit may not identify other related parts that should be ordered along with the part to ensure the technician can complete the repair. The technician is thus required to have the knowledge and foresight to identify such related parts at the time of the order.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.